When you seek trademark survey companies with strategic and analytical skills to provide analysis that will strengthen your case in Boulder, CO, look no further than Keegan & Donato Consulting.
We are a specialty research consultancy and one of the most experienced companies in trademark litigation. With over 30 years of combined experience, proven survey methodologies, and deep operational insight, principals Mark Keegan and Tony Donato have developed surveys for plaintiffs and defendants nationwide.
Our specialties include the following:
- Trade Dress Analysis & Surveys
- Lanham Act Analysis & Surveys
- Acquired Distinctiveness Analysis & Surveys
- Likelihood of Confusion Analysis & Surveys
- Strength of Mark Analysis & Surveys
- Secondary Meaning Analysis & Surveys
- False & Deceptive Advertising Surveys
- Consumer Perception Analysis & Surveys
- Consumer Understanding Studies
- Marketing, Damages & Forensic Economic Analyses
- Survey Critiques & Rebuttals
- Deposition & Trial Questioning Advice
- Expert Witness Testimony
Is a Trademark Survey Necessary?
Surveys are indispensable tools because they provide insight into real consumer perceptions, often when no other scientific evidence is available. They may help you build a stronger case.
There may be strategic reasons for deciding to proceed without survey evidence. A pilot survey may not have produced satisfactory results. The survey may be too expensive for the client. Or, perhaps your adversary’s survey was so flawed that you hope a rebuttal expert will successfully critique it without having to conduct another study.
It can be hazardous, however, to proceed without survey evidence. In Pharmacia Corp. v. Alcon Labs, Inc., 201 F.Supp. 2d 335, 373 (District Court, D. New Jersey 2002), for example, the Court noted that “Pharmacia is not legally required to conduct a confusion survey. But … such a failure, particularly when the trademark owner is financially able, implies that the Plaintiff believes the survey results will be unfavorable.”
It can be equally hazardous to proceed without hiring a qualified survey expert like Keegan & Donato Consulting. In Black & Decker Corp. v. Positec USA Inc., 1:11-cv-5426, Dist. Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division (2017), flawed survey evidence caused the Court to toss an earlier jury verdict and $53.9 million award and order a new trial.
The Court ruled that the Plaintiff’s likelihood of confusion survey was “so informally designed and conducted that it fails key tests of professionalism and reliability” and should have been excluded from the trial.
“Even if … the survey was not the sole evidence of likelihood of confusion in the trial record, it was the linchpin of Plaintiffs’ case on likelihood of confusion— an issue that was hotly contested at trial. Given that Plaintiffs presented no evidence that any consumers were actually confused about the origin of Defendants’ goods, there is a high probability that [the expert’s] flawed testimony unfairly influenced the jury’s verdict… and admission of the survey and [the expert’s] testimony about the survey was fundamentally unfair to Defendants.”
Bottom Line
Keegan & Donato Consulting offers extensive expertise in trademark survey design. No matter your budget or your needs, our company can help you develop a powerful case or rebuttal strategy in Boulder, CO. Contact our office at (914) 967-9421 to learn more about our services.